HELP!

[GraceAtterton]

I have several questions. I will start with my easy ones first.
-I have eggs that my Grandmother put in the incubator on 3/26/2018, they are already hatching. They started on 4/14/2018. I am not sure if this is normal or if this is okay. They are silkie chickens & are having a hard time. We have helped them if they are completely dry and we are able to get them out. We have had 6/8 hatch so far, with 1 death.
Basically my question is, is this normal, will they be okay as they grow older, will they have any health problems, will they have problems laying? Basically, will they be "normal" since they hatched so early?
-My second question, I have an orpington chicken. She is about 5 or 6 weeks old. She flew out of our brooder the other day. I believe it has been about a week, she was found by our bulldog in dust and under the server table. When my parents were able to get her out, she was covered in dust, we arent sure how long she was there. The problems she has are trouble breathing, wheezing, and it looks like she has a big bottom. Then again I am not sure, my other orpington did not have it, I do not think. (It has been to long) I have done sage, with rosemary & it took away her wheezing, I have done heat, i have her in chicken ICU, I have a constant eye on her, she is pooping, I have given her sugar water. Also when I hold the bottom part of her neck in a certain way, she stops the heavy breathing, like it isnt as bad.
Please help
-Grace

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It's not normal for them to hatch that early. The temperature has been too high throughout. Probably about 2 degrees or more.
Keep the chick warm, give a good chick starter feed and perhaps a vitamin supplement.
Make sure the ventilation is excellent as it probably got a lot of dust into the respiratory system.
Nutri-Drench is an excellent thing for supplementing and is available at stores like TSC.
In lieu of that, Poly-Vi-Sol without iron available at drug stores can work.

 

[PollyGirl21]

Hi Grace! I can answer your second question, but not your first. Make sure she has good access to water. Also, Sugar Water? huh? I've never really heard of giving it to a chicken. if it helps, that's great, but sometimes, (with humans, anyway) sugary drinks make you even more thirsty. I've never tried it, so it might be a good way to boost energy, but...yeah. She is covered in dust, you say? try cleaning her off and make sure she doesn't have any open cuts that the dust could have gotten into and infected it. If she is breathing heavily, I imagine that she could have inhaled too much dust, or she is probably just hot.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Sugar water once is OK as that will give the chick energy, just don't continue it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Canoe, we'll disagree on that. Mine normally hatch a full day and sometimes two full days early, whether in my incubator or under broody hens, in cooler weather as well as warm. If it were just my incubator I'd say yes the temperature is too high but under broodies? And consistently over several years? I think it is more heredity than temperature related here.

Grace, if the early hatching is consistent you might want to lower your incubating temperature a half degree or so. That should slow them down a bit. But mine hatch early all the time and they grow up to be healthy and productive. Those chick swill be normal, don't worry about it.

 

[GraceAtterton]

Hi Grace! I can answer your second question, but not your first. Make sure she has good access to water. Also, Sugar Water? huh? I've never really heard of giving it to a chicken. if it helps, that's great, but sometimes, (with humans, anyway) sugary drinks make you even more thirsty. I've never tried it, so it might be a good way to boost energy, but...yeah. She is covered in dust, you say? try cleaning her off and make sure she doesn't have any open cuts that the dust could have gotten into and infected it. If she is breathing heavily, I imagine that she could have inhaled too much dust, or she is probably just hot.

we did clean her off, since then she has been in "chicken ICU" and been being taken care of.

 

[GraceAtterton]

Thank-you. I read silkies are supposed to be higher temp, however we cannot put it at higher temp for the fact that we have other eggs in the incubator. we had the last one hatch this morning & she/he lived. So out of all 8, only 1 died. Im just not used. We've ran the incubator since my birthday (Jan. 23) since my grandmother keeps sneaking them in the incubator. (she wont listen) We finally got down to one egg left in the incubator that was put in on 4/15... only for our hens to be sitting & then quit.. the babies started forming..out of 15 eggs, 11 have babies. So now we have 12 babies in the incubator. I am thinking that our incubator running so long and the humidity having to be different may be part of the problem..it just makes me worry. BUT out of about 25 eggs hatching I have only lost 4. It is my first time hatching too. I could be over reacting as well... Just nervous and wanting to make sure everything goes good.. We have lost total 7 babies. 4 out of my incubator, 1 from TSC, 1 from a lady who didnt have time to focus on it when it was born early, and 1 from a freak accident. Each one has had me in tears, since ALL of them are pretty much my children. We have about 50 chickens. Never expected to have that many. LOL just kind of happened. Thank-yall for the help. We have scheduled her a vet appointment today since our TSC and feed companies do not have any antibiotics of anything.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

21 out of 25 is an excellent hatch rate. Raise chickens long enough and you'll probably get used to chicks dying.
Baby chicks shouldn't need antibiotics. And I wouldn't give antibiotics for any malady I wasn't sure was bacterial that they could actually cure. Most of the things affecting chickens don't fit that category.
What do you do with all the extra roosters?